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Following methodology employed in the United States (Lieske 1993) this paper examines the existence of regional political cultures in Canada, the UK and Australia. Existing literature in all three cases suggests that political boundaries, whether provincial, regional or state, create political sub-cultures. An examination of existing data suggests, however, that these are not sub-cultures, nor are they created by sub-state politics. Rather, they are regional variant cultures encouraged by differing patterns of treatment from the parliaments in Ottawa, London and Canberra. Building on methodology adapted from Lieske’s article on “Regional subcultures in the United States” and presented at the recent Canadian Political Science Association Conference the analysis draws on aggregate data for constituencies and then identifies coherent cultural clusters. Data from election studies allow for an analysis of the dominant attitudes and behaviours in each cluster. The paper argues that such clusters operate across and within sub-State political boundaries and urges a conceptual distinction between political sub-cultures and regional variations of a dominant culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia presents a compelling framework for success and best practices in effective urbanization. The paper explicates the most important components of Australian cities' "Race to the Top". Successful metropolitan patterns are not attributed to a single factor, but the commingling of policies - sound urban and land use planning, strong and coordinated state and local leadership, superior heritage planning, effective multicultural policies and an overall commitment to sustainable development driving the entire process. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are among the most livable in the world. For the majority of U.S. cities to compete in the "Race to the Top," state, local and federal leaders must adopt new models and change existing patterns of development. Research methods include six, month-long visits of direct field research in Australia with dozens of semi-structured interviews of state and local planners, attendance at planning and council meetings, primary source data including all of the major structure plans, economic development activities, sustainability plans and regional plans. Australia's "Race to the Top" can be understood through three primary lenses: sound regional planning with an emphasis on place building, enhancing the knowledge economy and a recent overall commitment to sustainable development. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares recent court decisions regarding alien detention in three countries. It is a case study that explores the effects of international forces on courts, and examines ways in which comparative constitutionalism can illuminate the dynamics of immigration policy. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decade there has been a proliferation of research on the relationship between diversity and redistributive social welfare policy. In conceptualizing the independent variable, diversity, the paper argues for distinctions between diversity as richness and diversity as evenness. In the dependent variable, redistributive welfare policy, the paper argues for looking beyond measures of generalized trust and spending on welfare to measures such as labor market policy and electoral reform. In terms of causal mechanisms, the paper argues for looking as well at the organizational capacity of the minority groups and policy framing. The usefulness of such concepts are demonstrated by looking at the case of Australia in the early 20th century which faced considerable diversity in that 20 percent of its population was Catholic, a minority population stigmatized by many Protestants. Yet up to the 1930s, Australia was one of the most progressive nations in the world, with considerable unionization, electorally successful labor parties, compulsory voting, and high levels of social welfare spending, while simultaneously raising Catholics to levels of political representation never before seen in Australian history. Brief comparisons with the United States and Canada are drawn. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around 1970, public aid for private schools in Australia, New Zealand and the U.S. was marginal although a politically influential Catholic school establishment was desperately campaigning for public aid in all three. Since then, the three education systems have diverged dramatically. While in the U.S. public aid has, by and large, been denied to private schools, especially sectarian ones, in Australia all private schools have since received aid and the private school sector has expanded significantly as a result. In New Zealand, public aid to private schools is modest and the private school sector has, in fact, diminished in size since 1970. This study explains the reasons for the divergent development with an emphasis on institutional constraints and also on the strategic creation, and bypass, of institutions by both proponents and opponents of public aid. A framework of two comparisons of political institutions, policy processes and decision making - Australia compared to the U.S. and Australia compared to New Zealand - offers insights about the circumstances under which the use of veto points aids or fails reform. Furthermore, the study also explores how significant reform can proceed in either a rapid or a slow pace. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Divergent patterns of funding for religious schools in Australia and the US can be traced to (1) stronger institutional constraints in the US, (2) lingering sectarianism in the US, and (3) partisan fluidity in Australia during the period 1955-1970. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic comparison of news coverage of men and women candidates across democratic systems allows for comparison of how the news media influence the election of women to political office, and how political institutions and context may influence gender differences in newspaper coverage of election candidates. We compare newspaper coverage of male and female candidates in the most recent national elections in Australia, Canada, and the United States. We find gender differences in the amount and type of coverage of contemporary campaigns, and these differences take different forms under different political contexts. This research represents the initial piece of a larger project in which we will examine patterns in coverage across a larger set of post-industrial democracies, over a series of elections. In this way, our initial findings remain tentative, and our final conclusions will be based on a larger body of evidence. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Men are often portrayed in various types of media with more facial prominence than women (?face-ism?). We found that face-ism also exists in online presentations of politicians in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Norway. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]